Our Voices Matter

I’m a big fan of the talent show, “The Voice”. The contestants belt out a song while the chairs of the judges are turned away from them. The judges base their decision solely on how good their voice is – not by how they look or their stage presence. If they are a good singer, the judges will hit the big button on their chairs which turns them around. Sometimes a singer is so good, they get a 4-chair turn. When they get a chair-turn by one or all the judges, the singer gets to select which judge they’d like to have as their coach and be on their team. Their voices are what matters. Whether we have the voice of an angel that would get a 4-chair turn or we’d never make the cut, still, our voices matter. Remember the old EF Hutton TV commercials? “When EF Hutton talks, people listen.” EF Hutton was a respected stock brokerage firm. Their voices mattered. And, if we desire that our voices matter, then we’ll be careful what comes out of them. We’ve all been there -- some fast-acting, split-second, stupid words spew out of our mouths and we know it is too late to take them back. The damage is done. Oh, how we wish our brain had engaged before our mouths did. I remember a sweet, but powerful little Sunday School song, “Be careful little mouth what you say….” If we would just think before we speak, oh how peace-filled our lives could be. With all the talking I’m capable of, I must stay on high alert to keep myself out of trouble. Proverbs 21:23 says “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue, keeps himself out of trouble.” Psalm 141:3 says “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” I really do purposely pray for God to put a gate or a door on my mouth. I pray almost daily: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord.” Psalm 19:13 I’m sure God wants to spare us, and others, from potential hurt and pain before unkind or unnecessary words slip out. If we’re intentional with pleasing Him, I suspect He might have “damage control” angels at our “mouth gates”. Our voices matter. This season of Christmas is filled with opportunities to be a voice of “peace on earth, goodwill to men and women. To be a voice of comfort and joy. To be a messenger of hope and love and peace. To be a watchman or watchwoman for opportunities to be a peacemaker in moments of disagreement. To be a soother to a troubled soul. To be a VOICE that is used by God to speak optimism and is even the spark-starter for laughter and humor – the VOICE that brightens the room and fills it with joy. It can all be done because God’s love was made manifest when He sent His Son to show us how to use our voices for His honor and glory. His voice mattered and so does ours. So, be careful, little mouths, what you say!